DCCC’s new logo, which quite a few have pointed out faces right, not left, or backward, or forward.

On February 20 – DCCC gave Sen. Jeff Van Drew its most significant attaboy; put him on the Red to Bluelist.

But February 14 was the Parkland shooting – So, DCCC did that 6 days after the Valentines Day gun massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS, as some emerging teenage leaders handed the Dems what may be the 2018 midterm’s key issue, which (no surprise) America’s coming generation is articulating with more credibility & commitment than our party is.

On February 16 – But wait. Jeff Van Drew – we know this in Jersey – has a 100% “A” Rating from the NRA. How could DCCC have known that? Well, if they did basic research, we had that info teed up for them on Feb. 16 – here at Blue Jersey.

February 15 – Or DCCC could have looked at this tweetfrom Center for American Progress’ Topher Spiro, spotlighting GOP incumbents with both an NRA “A” Rating and PVI of R+3 or less. Hey. Frank LoBiondo’s on that list & has an “A” Rating. Is DCCC really that comfy replacing an NRA “A” Rating pol with another “A” Rating pol – as long as he’s a … Democrat? Well, sort of a Democrat.

Here’s what DCCC is backing: Jeff Van Drew: NRA “A” Rating. NO on marriage equality. NO on Greenhouse Gas Initiative. NO on handgun buying limitations. NO on eliminating NJ’s death penalty. NO on NJ providing sanctuary. NOto convert foreclosures to Terrible environmental record. Sponsored a bill to let New Jerseyans carry concealed handguns. Pro-pipeline through NJ’s environmental treasure lands. Sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the state to require parental notification for abortions. But wait, there’s more: Here. Or here.Or just use the Google machine.

I’m all for a big-tent party, but this seems to be a party having trouble defining itself, or determining what it – we – can stand behind. And the fact that DCCC is willing to go this far out on a limb behind, well, yet another white guy from the Democratic sausage factory, when there are other candidates in the race? Candidates worth hearing from? Good enough that maybe it’s too early for DCCC (and NRA) to edge out? Well … that’s national news.

Tanzie Youngblood: @tanziefornj on Twitter

Start with the cover of Time Magazine about the first-time women candidates inspired to run because of the Women’s March; Tanzie Youngblood, who didn’t wait till LoBiondo dropped out to declare she was running – as Van Drew did.

Then, go to Newsweek,which asks, Why Are Democrats Backing a Former NRA Supporter Over a Black Woman Candidate?Good question, given the degree to which the Democratic Party relies on its most loyal demographic – black women – who have pulled the party’s ass out of the fire many times. Like sending Alabama’s Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate, despite the fact he didn’t even prioritize bringing them on board.

In fact Newsweek (again) noticed that, – and focused on Tanzie Youngblood, and CD11’s Tamara Harris, both in districts where DCCC picked out somebody else to lift up (in CD11, Mikie Sherrill, who is white, and Van Drew over Youngblood in CD2). Newsweek points out that there are obstacles thrown in the path of 2018 black women candidates that other candidates don’t have to deal with. And that, incredibly, this is going on just months after the Democratic Party gave a very public Thank You to black women, its loyal base, after it was Alabama black women who lifted up Doug Jones, and kept that weirdo Roy Moore from winning. That love doesn’t seem to have much staying power.

Will Cunningham: @willfornj2 on Twitter

Nope, not nationally and not even in Jersey. All the breaks are for Van Drew. Pals in high places. Here’s a big one: There are 6 pending gun control bills in the NJ Legislature that the Assembly’s already passed. NRA won’t like any of them much. What happens when Van Drew – NRA’s guy, DCCC’s darling – has to go on record? Nothing, because he won’t. Will Cunningham is a Vineland native and former Cory Booker staffer, and another of the candidates DCCC’s passed over for Van Drew. He’s busy this week telling people that though NJ Senate Judiciary will address these bills Monday, Senate Prez Steve Sweeney is delaying the full Senate vote – when Van Drew would have to go on record – till June 7, two days after the New Jersey primary. By which time NRA, DCCC, and all Van Drew’s South Jersey buds will probably have him greased to victory. Weird a f seeing NRA and DCCC team up to launch a guy to Congress. Well, maybe not.

DCCC’s new logo. Some people say it points to the right, not the left, backwards not forwards.

Comments (3)

Bertin LefkovicApril 11, 2018 at 7:51 am

As angry as we should be at the Democratic establishment, we should be angry at ourselves and the candidates who are not named Jeff Van Drew for not realizing how hard it would be for one of them to defeat Van Drew, much less three, which is all but impossible.

I don’t know Will Cunningham, but I do know how the Democratic establishment operates and the fact that he used to work for Cory Booker leads me to wonder at the very least if he is in this race solely to prevent Tanzie Youngblood from uniting voters of color in the district behind her candidacy.

As much as I would love Nate Kleinman, a very early Bernie Sanders supporter, to win the nomination, he is getting into this race very late and that makes it nearly impossible for him to do anything but further divide those voters who have the capacity to vote for candidates who are not on the party line.

For these reasons, more than anything that Youngblood has done or said that would define her as progressive, I hope that Cunningham and Kleinman take a page out of Spike Lee’s playbook and do the right thing by getting out of this race and backing her candidacy.

When Phil Murphy won the Democratic nomination last year, he did it with less than 50% of the vote, which means that if four out of the other five candidates in the race had dropped out and supported a single opponent, he might have lost. The same could be true for Van Drew, but we will never know unless we unify against him.